Protecting Death
by vabvioand
Summary: You were supposed to be smooth and silent. To have no emotion or mercy. To be fast and effective. To be the most deadly assassin. And you were not supposed to protect your ticket to death. AU
1. Chapter 1

**_You know the thing with "M is from Michael" on MTV? Well, I was watching the show and I heard 'Smooth Criminal' & 'Bad' (by MJ) and guess what happened? A new idea for a HitsuMatsu fic ^^_**

_**The first chapter is from Toshiro's POV (just feeling like write at the 1st person).**_

_**Bleach © Tite Kubo**_

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**I. Witness**

A few days ago I got a call on my 'job's phone' from an old guy, as his voice had hinted, who wanted someone dead. He told me everything I needed to know: name, address and the victim's program for this week. The employer offered me 2000 pounds for a well-done job, so the future-dead one was an important person. My prices were pretty high depending on the circumstances, but I had never missed the target – it was worth it. Also, I had always taken half of the money before the action and the other half after it. At first, the old man didn't agree, but when I told him to search another assassin he changed his mind. We appointed a place to meet because I wouldn't give my home's address to any employer.

At the settled hour, a black jeep stopped at the bridge's bottom and a tall guy dressed in a cheap black suit and wearing sunglasses although it was a gloomy day, stepped out of the car. He showed me the gun resting at his belt and handed me a briefcase. _So original…_

"The code is 139742" he said seriously. "Check if you want, there are 1000 £."

"No need to." Whoever the employer was, he wouldn't risk losing me before the job was done.

The interlocutor nodded and returned to the car without taking his eyes from me. I guessed he had seen the gun in my jacket – not like I cared. The meeting for the first half of the payment wasn't dangerous – though it never damaged to be careful -, the second one was a little troublesome especially if the price was high.

* * *

I entered easily, shooting the guardian and I walked around the huge house lazily. After following the victim for three days, I knew how the place looked like so I got used the enormous amount of white; I also knew that his family was on a mini holiday in Milano.

I heard moans from the living-room and, as I expected, he was having some fun with a twenty-something years old woman. I decided to let him enjoy the little time he had left and to arrange the security system first – delete the videos, stop the cameras, thing that you do to make sure that the police won't discover who the killer had been. The guy in the security office was snoring incredibly loud! However, he woke up once he heard steps approaching. At first, he blinked confused still under the sleep's effect, then he noticed the gun in my hand and the glacial look in my eyes.

"Dare to push it." I challenged him placing the weapon's pipe on the back of his head. He gulped, withdrawing his fingers from the cufflink that would have alerted the police that something was wrong. "Disable the video cameras." I ordered keeping the gun still and, noticing his hesitation, added more firmly "Now! Good, put all the recording on a floppy, then remove them from the system. _Permanently_."

With shaky hands he did as he was told to and soon handed me the disk. I had been watching his movements closely all the while to make sure he wasn't trying to somehow turn on the alarm. I took the diskette between my index and middle finger and a smirk pasted on my face.

"Thank you!" then I shot him down.

* * *

Now here I was, staying on a chair in the middle of the room with my elbows resting on my knees. I was playing the gun – still loaded – as I was enjoying the view of the fear spread across the two's faces and heard the man's prayer: it was amusing and pathetic the way he kept clinging on his life since I had set the gun towards him. I felt the sick tendency to laugh at the scene, but only a chuckle escaped my lips.

"Turn around." I lay back in the chair and took a cigarette.

The woman seemed frozen – how could I blame her in the given conditions? I moved the tobacco circularly – creating a few smoky circles in the air as well – to indicate what to do. She was wearing a short skirt revealing long legs and a top that was barely covering her generous chest. I watched the beautiful body dancing and it surprised me that she was moving gracefully and, despite her outfit, not too indecent, but I regained my cool rather quickly.

"You like her?" the smirk on the man's face was pissing me off – he was suddenly too confident than someone in his position should have been. "You can have her if you spare my life."

Such a coward! I have never liked a man that was hiding behind a woman. I frowned at the though and turned to his 'offer': she was freaking terrified!

"What's your name?" the tone I used seemed indifferent, but I wouldn't normally care about a prostitute's name – because that what she actually was -, this one appeared to be different somehow.

"S-Savana." She hesitated. Yeah, I expected such a name.

"I can bring you better girls. Younger, hotter, naughtier an-"

"I wasn't talking to you." I placed the gun straight to his temple. "Now, Savana," she came closer, but didn't dare to sit next to me. "Can you keep your mouth or do I have to kill you too? I don't want to waste the bullets, though." I looked at the rifle for a second then back at her. "You haven't seen anything, got it?" she nodded still under the shock, not knowing what else to do. "Go."

Once the woman ran out of the residence, I turned to the 'target'. A smirk appeared on my face as dozens of version to end his life were running through my head – basically, I could have shoot him in a vital point and avoid the pain _or_ kill him slowly, enjoying the sweet flavor of fear, smelling the scent of the blood spilled on the floor and tasting the aroma of fading sanity. The man was caught like a mouse and I liked to be the snake that devours the poor little creature. It's funny how things can turn – one moment the money make you the kind of the world and the next moment they end your life.

Anyway, my mind tended to choose the painful way. Who would think that someone, a human being, could be so cold-blooded, so desired to hurt, so utterly pleased by the image I was facing just now? Some people had used to say that I was a step away from madness, that I had no sense of sanity or reality – maybe they had been right. I had never given a damn on their opinion and I wasn't going to start any time soon. And I didn't _want_ to live in their 'perfect' reality either, in that boring, fake world of theirs; no, I had always liked _this_ reality: a vicious place, a dangerous dimension where you could only hope for the next day, a world of obscurity that they refused to admit it as the very same Earth, just from different points of view. Why would I want to say everything was fine when it obviously wasn't? Why would I want to sink into world of lies and fear? Just nonsense. And a little adrenaline didn't kill anyone, right?

…Maybe it did.

"I-I beg y-you…" I heard the man's voice cracking with every second passed. He was desperately trying to stop the shaking that his body kept repeating since I had first headed the gun towards him. Only then, I realized I had been here for at least an hour. "Please-"

"Pray to God." I cut him off by pushing the drawer. I wasted too much time to play with the victim.

An acoustic sound flew across the room, ranging in every corner and gradually dissolving into thin air. At first I though it was just my imagination, my mind that was playing with the many screams that I had memorized in the past few years, but I realized someone else was here when the bullet's noise vanished being replaced by the heels'. It was deep and clear in its intensity – my mind was fine, but the person that had slipped inside and probably watched the whole scene with the statesman wasn't going to be so fine. The unwelcome guest was quite obviously a woman since I couldn't imagine any guy having such a girly voice. I didn't know where she had hidden, but once she started to run I followed the footfall and soon enough I saw waves of blond hair.

_Damn, she's fast…_

It was somehow fun, I had never met someone – a female - as fast as her before and, since the streets were unusually empty, considered the idea of playing a little more until I realized she wasn't going anywhere she was seeing, but straight to the place where the sirens' noise was coming from. Of course she had called the police! I recharged the gun decided to stop the cat-and-mouse game…

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**_That's it for now! What do you think about it?_**

**_Review are very welcomed! ^.^_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**After such a long time I am back!**_

_**More dialogue this time but I hope you will like it. I will post the next chapter for 'Love, Pride and Prize' as soon as I can.**_

_**Until then, Enjoy!**_

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**II. Let the game begin!**

It was somehow funny, I had never met someone – a female - as fast as her before and, since the streets were unusually empty, I considered the idea of playing a little more until I realized she wasn't going anywhere she was seeing, but straight to the place where the sirens' noise was coming from. Of course she had called the police!

"Damn it."

Once we were out the house I hid the gun. A few streets away was the police building and chasing someone, with a gun in my hand, wasn't the way I wanted to be seen by some cop.

Wait… A few streets away…

"Damn it." I muttered realizing where she was heading to.

I changed the plan and pulled out the weapon. It was more risky to let here reach the police building than shooting in the middle of the road – which was, anyway, empty at the moment. The streets were short and narrowed, therefore every time I was about to pull the trigger, she turned right or left. Soon were reached the main road, long and perfect for getting rid of the unwanted witness. I placed the gun and shot but the bullet hit a taxi's widow. On the driver's face was pasted utter shock; however he treaded the accelerator once the woman entered the car. My first urge was to shot again and the bullet would have broken the window and hit her but she had already lowered her body enough to make sure I wasn't able to do it. I frowned and hid the weapon. Next time I want to shoot someone, I'd better make sure that the traffic is closed. Anyway, I just needed to find out who the woman was and she 'would have disappeared in mysterious circumstances'. I returned to my car, decided to leave before the cops' arrival.

* * *

Once I opened the door, I threw the keys and the gloves on the couch.

"Any new message?"

"Two calls registered." The computer's monotone voice reported. "One from Washington Police Department."

"Washington?" I looked at the computer surprised. "Who was the other from?"

"Detective Juushiro Ukitake, Nord Department of Manhattan, New York."

"See what you can find about him." _I've heard about Ukitake. If he suspects me, it might get complicated._ I looked quickly over the information the computed had found and then left them on the desk. _One of the best, yet he couldn't solve one case I was involved in. I am good!_

Yes, I know it sounds haughtily but if you had been in my place, you would have felt flattered too.

_He won't solve this one either._

The blonde slammed the front door opened and hurried upstairs while yelling for her father. The poor man rose on his feet letting the chair to fall loudly and ran desperately to his daughter's room.

"Rangiku?" he leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom confused.

"Dad!" she jumped turning to face the person. "Dad, we gotta go. He's following me!"

"Who?"

"I don't know!" his confusion grew even more. "That guy, I don't know who he is. He has a gun and he wants to shoot me and-"

The man approached slowly and embraced the girl in order to calm her down, whispering that everything was alright, that no one wanted to kill her.

The next morning, the death of a senator was on every single channel and the reports were crowded in the yard of the said politician's manor like ants.

"…The criminologists are on the spot but they don't wish to make any declarations." A reporter informed her viewers with a dramatic tone. "Ah, Mr. Ukitake, what can you tell us?" She ran towards the man and placed the microphone in front of him. "Was it murdered or suicide?"

"This is what I want to find out." He tried to make his way through the mob of people that surrounded him.

He eventually managed to reach the police-fence and the men helped him to escape the reports. Juushiro sighed in relief, fixed his jacket and entered the manor.

The brown-haired man had been walking around the house in the past few hours, lazily searching for stamps or any other traces that would have indicated the murdered. Hearing steps behind, he chuckled and picked up the last cigarette from the packet.

"Decided to show your face, Ukitake?" without turning to look at the newcomer, he pressed on the lighter and a small flame appeared at the top of it, a flame that slowly devoured the thin cigarette.

"No sign yet?"

"Nope." The blunt answer came immediately with inadequate optimism. "So here's the conclusion: it's the same killer as the one from case 157 and the others alike. Lucky, isn't it?"

"Lucky? None of those cases has been solved."

"Yeah, but if it's the same guy, it means there are with…" the smoker stopped a little to count the number of cases. "…Twenty-four less offenders in town. Well, in the last few moths."

"The more he remains unknown, the more dangerous he'll become. No, wait, think this way: more murderers means more work to do, Shunsui."

"You're taking advantage of my laziness, aren't you?" his voice seemed threatening at first, but transformed into a happy one as soon as ever. "I'm proud of you, buddy!" Kyoraku threw his free arm around the other's shoulder smiling. "Now, let's go get some coffee and donuts to celebrate your performance!"

"What kind of detective are you?!"

"I pay."

"On the other hand, a break would make us concentrate better."

Both exited the house looking once again at the crime scene. It didn't look like, nothing like a place that had been robbed as it was claimed by some people: no window broken, no door forced, no layer open, no thing threw around the floor – no mess. Whoever the felon was, he knew what or who he was looking for.

Outside, across the road, people gathered to see why were so many cops running around this mansion. In the crowd were a few relatives crying – fact that didn't surprise anyone – and dozen of reporters asking them question about what happened, who did it and why as if the poor family was in an appropriate state to answer.

The two detectives sighed and headed to the near coffee shop. A few streets away they found one – a small shop in an intersection not very circulated. The building was nice and warm – considering the rain that drowned the city in the last hours – and the coffee was good and cheap.

"Coming often here?" Ukitake asked, already knowing the answer, noticing the way his friend looked at the waitress.

"Only when I visit my mom."

"Sure…"

"Seriously, she's living a few streets away, next to the police station. And, yes, what you think is true as well, but can you blame me? She's hot!"

"The reason for what you are at your forties and still not married…" the white-haired man sighed.

"Wives are nuisance! Thought yours is wonderful, she's –"

"Annoying when she keeps me busy and I don't come for a drink with you?"

"Yeah… But compensates with cooking. And she has a body… She must be drawing attention when she walks down the street. She's deadly in bed too… I suppose."

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to talk about it." He glared at the other detective. _I hope you didn't._

* * *

"Say," Shunsui said right after the waitress brought the cups. "Have you checked those files?"

"You know it's illegal to interfere with other's department." A knowing smile appeared on the brown-haired detective face. "But you were right: only a sniper rifle would match the wound, yet no sign of penetration was found. No bullet was shot from outside in any of those files." Juushiro moved his eyes from the cup to his friend. "Implanted evidence?"

"Maybe," he sighed**.** "But I doubt it. I talked with Kurotsuchi, the legist, and it seems like we have a stereotype – in all of these cases the weapon was the same. I checked the one from last night too and it matched. You know the rest."

"The senator wasn't the only victim; there was three more."

"But we have a witness. My mom heard gunfire nearby but no riffle make a sound loud enough to be heard to such a distance. Moreover, last night you told me that the victim died at 00:47 and she heard the gunfires about 1 a.m. I strolled two hours around the police station, in the middle of the night, and I found shards on the road."

"So a witness escaped. Perfect! Who is he?"

"Do I have to do the entire job?" Kyoraku folded his arms and looked at his friend with an irritated expression pasted on his face.

"I should have expected that." Ukitake laughed softly.

"Anyway, the witness should pay a visit to the police soon enough. What I am curious about is who the killer is. I am sure it's the same in all cases."

"Well, here what I found: there's a site through which you can contact assassins."

"These sites should be forbidden! What offers do they have?"

"They are forbidden. And Shunsui… You can't employ an assassin."

"Yeah, I see. They are all so expensive. What?"

Ukitake sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, I called to all the number from the station and only one proved inexistent. However, when I called from my mobile phone, the robot answered."

"Do you think he's your man?"

"He's just one on a million. Ross was hand-in-hand with the Mafia. A few mouth ago he betrayed the head of a clan and joined the Witness Protection Program."

"It didn't really protect him…"

"Sangtelo is in jail but we both know it doesn't stop him to act from the shadow. Ralph was bounded to the Mafia, just like most of the people in these cases, but we have a few 'clean' victims."

"Who did you say you called?"

"The Dragon."

"Dragon? Is he Chinese? Do you still have the number?"

_Not all with this kind of nickname are Chinese…_

Juushiro pulled the phone out of his pocket, he searched for the right number then called. An annoying sound started and in a few seconds someone picked up the phone.

"Hi!" Kyoraku snatched the item before its owner could say anything. "I heard you commit crimes for payment? How much for one person?"

"_Depends. Who is it?" _the voice seemed interested in the offer.

"Head of police, Genryuusai Yamamoto." Shunsui smirked earning an alarmed look from his friend. "Maybe we could meet somewhere to give you details."

"_A detective asks me this?" _the question caught both men off-guard. "_I'm not fool enough to meet you…" _the small pause was unusual tensed only to end with more suspence. "_Ukitake."_

Another annoying sound confirmed that in the person on the other side hung up. The white haired detective didn't say a word when he previously called.

"He knows your number…?"

"So he knows I'm investigating the case."

"He has played us on his fingers all this time." The brown-haired man chuckled humorlessly, regaining his normal self. "Smart guy."

* * *

Today, after a failed attempt to eat the breakfast and an early call from Ukitake, I decided to make some shopping. I entered the nearest hypermarket and, following the list I had made before leaving, I bought the necessary things: milk, eggs, flour, oil, potatoes and so on, then I picked up some new DVDs and finally popcorn and Cola. After I had paid, I walked towards the car, four bags hanging in my hands. I just put them in the trunk when I noticed the blonde woman who parked next to me. She was having a hard time with the luggage.

"Be careful, it's pretty have." I had caught the last bag right before it was about to hit the ground and placed it on her trunk, next to the others.

"T-Thank you…"

At that moment, I didn't understand why she was so scared. Her face paled and I could have sworn that her breath became heavier. She looked as if she had seen a ghost…As if I was a ghost. The blonde was staring at me like she would look to a person that she had met before but hoped to never meet him again. She seemed familiar to me as well but I couldn't figure out where I had seen her. I assumed that I mistook her for someone else and get in the car. Next destination – Hospital, the place where I was taking the bullets from. Sounds weird but Dr. Harrison was the one who obtained the bullets for me.

Even home, I couldn't take my mind of that woman. Why was she so familiar? Where had I seen her before? I turned on the TV decided to forget about the useless question and about her.

"Great… How much are they gonna show the same news? Ralph Ross is dead. So what?"

Then I remembered – the woman at the market must have been the witness. _If only I found out sooner!_ Anyway, all I needed to know now was her name and address. Just when I wanted to search the information, I heard the phone ringing. It wasn't from a cop or detective so I answered but the new offer caught me off guard.

"You want me to…protect someone? I believe you mistook the number. I am an assassin, not a bodyguard."

"_Maybe but you're one of the best, as I have heard."_

"No. Protection is not-"

"_Listen, I need to protect my family against another assassin. I doubt a regular bodyguard would be good enough."_

He was right; a regular bodyguard would have been useless. The payment was tempting though. As I had understood, the employer was going on a business journey tonight and I had to take care of his daughter. The conditions were simple: pretend to be a FBI agent and not taking advantage of the female, especially because I had to live with her for a while. Perfect, she wasn't a little girl. I was just hoping she wasn't a spoiled teen.

I checked once again if I was at the right address, then I stepped out the car. A tall man wearing a suit and a serviette answered the door and looked at me from head to toes.

"I am the 'Dragon'."

"William Hall." The business man turned for a second to call his daughter. "The money will enter in your account weekly." He pulled out a card.

I took it and put the black glasses on – I was supposed to look like a classic FBI agent. My nervousness was growing as the steps were getting closer. If she had been a child, I would have regretted the decision I had made earlier. Both I and she were shocked at the sight of each other.

"You!" We said at once.

It was worse than a spoiled teen. Much worse.

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_**Hope you liked it!**_

_**Don't forget that review = faster update.**_


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